Article of furniture and method of manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

A sofa-like article of furniture having pillow-like seat and back cushions. Each cushion consists of a flexible cover filled with a resilient particulate material such as chunks of polyurethane foam. The seat and back cushions are sewn together along their rear and bottom edges, respectively, to define a flexible hinge seam therebetween. The sofa can be placed with the seat cushion resting on a floor and the back cushion against a wall or can be used in a suitable frame. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing the sofa.

United States Patent 1191 Oliver 1451 Sept. 25, 1973 ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME [76] Inventor: William H. Oliver, 1219 N. 50th,

Seattle, Wash. 98103 22 Filed: Sept. 27, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 183,794

[52] US. Cl 297/456, 5/12 R, 5/337, 5/344, 5/357, 297/DlG. 1 [51] Int..C1 A47c 13/00, A47 c 7/14 [58] 1 Field of Search 5/12, 337, 341, 352, 5/355, 361; 297/452, 218, 219, 455, 457; 53/29 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 716,752 12/1902 Phillips 5/341 3,204,259 9/1965 Gordon 5/361 R 3,469,882 9/1969 Larsen 5/344 X 2,667,915 2/1954 Pfeffer 5/337 3,346,298 10/1967 Champion 297/455 3,242,508 3/1966 Smithson 3,253,861 5/1966 Howard 2,725,927 12/ l 955 Feinerman 3,419,309 l2/l968 Smith 297/456 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg [5 7] ABSTRACT A sofa-like article of furniture having pillow-like seat and back cushions. Each cushion consists of a flexible cover filled with a resilient particulate material such as chunks of polyurethane foam. The seat and back cushions are sewn together along their rear and bottom edges, respectively, to define a flexible hinge seam therebetween. The sofa can be placed with the seat cushion resting on a floor and the back cushion against a wall or can be used in a suitable frame. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing the sofa.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing .Figures ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to articles of furniture such as sofas, love seats, chairs and the like.

There is a continuing need for furniture which is comfortable and esthetically appealing and yet also comparatively inexpensive. There is also a growing need for furniture which can be quickly and inexpensively made to order as to size, shape, and type and pattern of upholstery material. Furthermore, there is a need for furniture that is so designed that it is economical to manufacture, both from a standpoint of material and labor costs and from a standpoint of the cost of equipment required to produce it. Still further, there is a need for furniture which can be manufactured by unskilled persons after having received only a very mini mum of training.

It is an object of this invention to provide furniture which meets each of these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to an article of furniture, such as a sofa, love seat or chair, comprising pillow-like seat and back cushions stitched or otherwise secured together along their respective rear and bottom edges to define a flexible hinge seam therebetween. Each cushion consists of a bag-like cover of flexible material, such as upholstery fabric, filled with a resilient material, such as chunks of polyurethane foam. The cushions are preferably at least one foot thick at their centers. The furniture of this invention can be supported in a suitable frame or can be placed on a floor with the back cushion supported by a wall.

This invenion is also directed to a method of manufacturing such an article of furniture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is isometric view of a small sofa or love seat constructed according to this invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are respectively side and top views the sofa of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4-7 are isometric views showing the preferred method of manufacturing the sofa of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to FIGS. l-3, a sofa according to this invention consists of a pillow-like seat cushion 2 and a pillow-like back cushion 4. Each cushion consists of a cover of flexible material within which is disposed a resilient filler material. Preferred filler materials include particles of resilient foamed polymeric materials, for example, polyurethane foam. Preferably the cushions are filled such that each has a maximum thickness of at least on the order of one foot.

The seat and back cushions are stitched together along their respective rear and bottom edges to define a flexible hinge seam or fold line 6 (partially visible in FIGS. 1 and 2). The seat and back cushions are oriented at right angles to the hinge seam with the seat cushion resting on a floor 8 and the back cushion supported in its vertical position by a wall 10. The sofa can also be supported in a frame such as that shown in my copending U. S. Design Pat. Application Ser. No. 134,531 filed Apr. 15, 1971 and entitled Sofa or Similar Article. The flexible hinge seam serves to prevent the cushions from becoming separated or misaligned during use. Referring to FIG. 2 in particular, itwill be noted that due to the inter-connection between the cushions, the back cushion is supported by and prevented from sliding behind the seat cushion. It will also be noted that when the back cushion and seat cushion are oriented as shown, they are slightly compressed in the area of contact therebetween 11. This compression maintains the back cushion in its upright position against the wall or other vertical support and prevents it from falling forward.

As shown in FIGS. 11-3, the top surface 12 of the seat cushion and the front surface 16 of the back cushion are made of one type of material, such as high quality upholstery fabric, calfskins, or leather, while the bottom and rear surfaces 18 of the seat and back cushions respectively, and also the strip 14 on either side of the hinged seam (see FIG. 7) are made of a second material, typically an inexpensive material such as vinyl. The sofa can, of course, be covered with the same material over all. However, the use of two materials as mentioned can reduce the cost of covering material by 50 percent and more without significantly detracting from the appearance of the furniture.

At least a portion of the covering material used in each cushion should be of the type which will breathe or allow air to pass through rapidly as the cushions are periodically compressed and released during use. Alternatively, vent holes can be provided at inconspicuous locations about the cushions.

FIGS. 4-7 depict a preferred sequence of steps by which the sofa of FIG. 1 can be manufactured. Referring to FIG. 4 in particular, the cover for the sofa of FIG. I is made from four rectangles of upholstery mate.- rial I2, 14, I6, and 18 (those shown having dimensions of 36 X 54 inches, 12 X 54 inches, 24 X 54 inches and 54 X 72 inches, respectively) stitched together along seams 19, 20 and 21 to form a large rectangular sheet 22 having dimensions of approximately 54 X 144 inches. The sheet 22 is then folded in half upon itself along seam 21 as indicated by arrow A with the seams therein exposed. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 the superimposed layers of the sheet 22 are stitched together about their perimeters except at two corners 23 as shown. The cover is then turned inside-out through one of its open corners 23 such that the seams are now disposed within the bag as shown in FIG. 6. The top and bottom layers of the cover are then stitched together along the center of the narrow rectangular strip 14 to form the hinge seam 6, thereby dividing the cover into two separate compartments.

Referring to FIG. 7, each of the compartments is blown full of resilient particulate material 25 which preferably comprises polyurethane foam chunks of from I to 3 inches in diameter. When each compart ment is filled to the desired degree, the corners are stitched shut (step not shown) and the sofa is complete.

Referring again to FIG. 4, it will be apparent that the width of sheet 22 can be increased to form a larger sofa, or decreased to form a chair and that sheet 22 could be replaced by a seamless sheet of fabric of the same dimensions. If desired, the corners 24 on the folded sheet 22 (FIG. 5) can be slightly rounded before being stitched to eliminate the protruding corners on the filled cushion (FIGS. 1-3) or rounded to a greater extent such that the cushions take on an overall semicircular shape.

While the invention has been disclosed by reference to presently preferred embodiments, it will be recognized that changes and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A sofa-like article of furniture for supporting a person in a sitting position comprising:

first enclosed bag means defining a first pillow member having front and rear edges and top and bottom surfaces;

resilient, particulate filler means disposed within said bag means maintaining said top and bottom surfaces separated;

second enclosed bag means defining a second pillow member having top and bottom edges and front and rear surfaces;

resilient, particulate filler means disposed within said second bag means maintaining said front and rear surfaces separated; and

means interconnecting said pillow members to define a hinge along said rear edge of said first member and said bottom edge of said second member, whereby said second pillow member can be positioned vertically when said first pillow member is positioned horizontally;

said top and bottom surfaces of said first bag means and said front and rear surfaces of said second bag means being separated, respectively, by said filler means to such an extent that when said first and second pillow members are positioned substantially horizontally and vertically, respectively, a portion of said top surface of said first pillow member contacts a portion of said front surface of said second pillow member and the pillow members are placed under compression in the area of said contact, thereby limiting the forward movement of said second pillow member.

2. The article of claim 1 wherein the separation between said top and bottom surfaces is at least on the order of one foot at the point of maximum separation between said top and bottom surfaces and said front and rear surfaces, respectively.

3. The article of claim 2 wherein said filler means is a foamed polymeric material.

4. The article of claim 3 wherein said particulate material is on the order of 1-3 inches in diameter.

5. A sofa-like article of furniture for supporting a person in a sitting position comprising:

a pillow-like cushion having a forward edge and a rearward edge, said cushion being comprised of top and bottom substantially coextensive layers of flexible material superimposed and secured together about the entire perimeter thereof and along a fold line extending across said cushion intermediate said forward and rearward edges and dividing said cushion into two sections, said cushion being foldable along said fold line to position one of said sections vertically and the second of said sections horizontally, said cushion being further comprised of resilient, particulate filler disposed within each of said sections in amounts sufficient to balloon apart said layers, except about said perimeters and along said fold line, such that in each of said sections the layers are separated at least on the order of 1 foot at the point of maximum separation and such that, when said sections are positioned substantially horizontally and vertically, a portion of the top of the horizontal section contacts a portion of the front of the vertical section, such contact limiting the forward movement of said vertical section.

6. The article of furniture of claim 5 wherein said layers are stitched together along said fold line.

7. The article of furniture of claim 5 wherein said particulate filler is foamed polymeric material on the order of one to 3 inches in diameter. 

1. A sofa-like article of furniture for supporting a person in a sitting position comprising: first enclosed bag means defining a first pillow member having front and rear edges and top and bottom surfaces; resilient, particulate filler means disposed within said bag means maintaining said top and bottom surfaces separated; second enclosed bag means defining a second pillow member having top and bottom edges and front and rear surfaces; resilient, particulate filler means disposed within said second bag means maintaining said front and rear surfaces separated; and means interconnecting said pillow members to define a hinge along said rear edge of said first member and said bottom edge of said second member, whereby said second pillow member can be positioned vertically when said first pillow member is positioned horizontally; said top and bottom surfaces of said first bag means and said front and rear surfaces of said second bag means being separated, respectively, by said filler means to such an extent that when said first and second pillow members are positioned substantially horizontally and vertically, respectively, a portion of said top surface of said first pillow member contacts a portion of said front surface of said second pillow member and the pillow members are placed under compression in the area of said contact, thereby limiting the forward movement of said second pillow member.
 2. The article of claim 1 wherein the separation between said top and bottom surfaces is at least on the order of one foot at the point of maximum separation between said top and bottom surfaces and said front and rear surfaces, respectively.
 3. The article of claim 2 wherein said filler means is a foamed polymeric material.
 4. The article of claim 3 wherein said particulate material is on the order of 1-3 inches in diameter.
 5. A sofa-like article of furniture for supporting a person in a sitting position comprising: a pillow-like cushion having a forward edge and a rearward edge, said cushion being comprised of top and bottom substantially coextensive layers of flexible material superimposed and secured together about the entire perimeter thereof and along a fold line extending across said cushion intermediate said forward and rearward edges and dividing said cushion into two sections, said cushion being foldable along said fold line to position one of said sections vertically and the second of said sections horizontally, said cushion being further comprised of resilient, particulate filler disposed within each of said sections in amounts sufficient to balloon apart said layers, except about said perimeters and along said fold line, such that in each of said sections the layers are separated at least on the order of 1 foot at the point of maximum separation and such that, when said sections are positioned substantially horizontally and vertically, a portion of the top of the horizontal section contacts a portion of the front of the vertical section, such contact limiting the forward movement of said vertical section.
 6. The article of furniture of claim 5 wherein said layers are stitched together along said fold line.
 7. The article of furniture of claim 5 wherein said particulate filler is foamed polymeric material on the order of one to 3 inches in diameter. 